Cover Image: The Girl Next Door

The Girl Next Door

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Member Reviews

This is an excellent psychological thriller/domestic noir. It’s well written with plenty of twists and turns. The ending is fantastic and very unexpected. A must have read for anyone who likes this genre of book.

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This is my first read of this author but it definitely will not be the last. What a brilliant story.

‘The Girl Next Door’ is cleverly plotted around Clare Edwards, who is the teenager living next door to the ‘picture perfect’ Goodwin family. Clare goes missing and is found murdered with her head smashed in. The whole community is stunned as this is a small, close village where any crime is pretty much unheard of.

The story is told from three viewpoints; Jane Goodwin who we know has a dark secret from the past, DS Madeleine Shaw who has lived in the area all her life and understands the local people better than most and Clare, herself, during the day leading up to her murder.

In a close knit community rumours, innuendos and gossip fuel the fire of accusations and several people come under suspicion as we learn of secrets, lies and non-communication within families and neighbours.

It is not until the ending that I felt I had the full story and the author cleverly lead me along variously misleading/covered paths.

Brilliant read, highly recommended.

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A brilliantly addictive domestic noir/psychological thriller that will have you turning pages late into the night !
Clare is quite literally is THE GIRL NEXT DOOR , popular, blonde, 16 and breathtakingly beautiful . When Clare fails to return home from school her parents worse fears are realised when her body is found. In a small affluent town like Ashdon things like this don’t happen, it’s a safe place to live, where everybody know everyone’s business. We meet Clare’s neighbours who live next door , Jane and Dr Jack Goodwin and their Children. Jack is the local Doctor who’s handsome good looks make Jane the envy of the mothers at school , Jane is a respected doctors wife on the PTA , some would say the perfect wife . Janes worked hard to get the life and family she has and the facade she presents , but behind closed doors is a different story.
Then there’s Local loner Nathan who found Clare some say he’s simple and he’s been accused of following a school girl in the past , could history be repeating itself but this time with dire consequences? Harry Goodwin the drs son had a thing for Clare could she have rebut his advances ?
It’s investigating officer Madeline Shaw’s job to find out and although the investigation features in the story a police procedural story it is not . The story is told from multiple points of view , the prospective of Clare herself on the day she was killed , Jane Goodwin and Madeline Shaw . This book kept me guessing until the end which is unusual for me as I normally guess who’s guilty , there’s defiantly a few shockers along the way ! I am sad i have finished reading it ,a sure sign of a fabulous book .cannot wait for more from this author .
#netgalley #thegirlnextdoor ,links below to my blog

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'The Girl Next Door' is a twisty, turny, psychological thriller, it is told from the point of view of a few different characters and is filled with domestic tension.

While it is a well written and fast, easy enough read, it was quite obvious from very early on who the murderer was.

I suppose the interest for the reader lies in the question of 'why?'

~ Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this title ~

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#TheGirlNextDoor #NetGalley Wow, this book kept me up until 3am in the morning to finish it! Told from the perspective of different characters including Clare - who was found dead at the beginning of the book. I liked this as it gave me more of an insight into her character. Expertly written and a real page turner. I cant really say much more without giving spoilers away but I will say that just when you think you have worked things out, everything changes again. A skillful twist at the end which will remain in my mind for a long time. A well deserved 5 stars!

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Phoebe Morgan's debut novel was pretty damn impressive. So the second was a hard act to follow. But she did, with some aplomb! Yet again, Ms. Morgan keeps you on your toes right until the final pages of her novel, The Girl Next Door, and you will no doubt be left just wanting more. This author is more adept at keeping the twists in the story coming than most writers, and you only need to know this about her books, whatever you think, whatever you suspect, it's never quite that simple...

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Ever since I read Phoebe Morgan’s debut novel The Doll House (which I loved) I’ve been eagerly awaiting her second novel The Girl Next Door, and my god it was definitely worth the wait. If anything, I enjoyed this devilishly twisted psychological thriller more; I enjoy a book where the author misdirects the reader at every given opportunity and the author certainly managed to do just that! If I had to choose just one thing I loved about this book, it would have to be the amount of surprises that were hidden within its pages, I’m trying to keep away from the “T” word (Twist in case you were wondering) as it seems to be the “buzz” word for all psychological thrillers, but hell yes it’s definitely got those “twists” all psychological thriller readers love.


Perfect wife, perfect mother, Jane Goodwin, is married to the local GP, living the dream in an affluent street with their three children. When the girl next door sixteen-year-old Clare, is found dead in a field nearby, Jane’s first thought is to protect her family from the gossip and scaremongering that follows. Jane was a difficult character to like, but also fascinating, she’s one of those people whose “all about the appearance”, quick to judge those less fortunate than herself. Jane is a woman who prefers to bury her head in the sand than deal with real-life issues, her mindset is one where if you don’t talk about it, it isn’t happening, but appearances can be deceptive, as the author scratches the surface you come to the realise that behind the cool exterior is a very troubled woman. Numerous characters come under suspicion In The Girl Next Door, some rouse more suspicion than others and although I worked out the killer about halfway through, it did not distract from my enjoyment of this book as I couldn’t fathom out their motive, which made the read all the more riveting.

Phoebe Morgan location is perfectly depicted a small town where unsolicited rumours, pointing fingers, and mistrust building amongst the local community all add an unbearable sense of tension to the read. The Girl Next Door is narrated from three characters POV, DI Madeline Shaw, who leads the investigation into Clare’s murder, Jane the perfect mother, and Clare herself. The chapters told from Clare’s POV give an insight into the secretive teenager's life, her dreams, her fears all add a dimension to her character that I wasn’t expecting. DI Madeline Shaw doesn’t take centre stage which I found made a refreshing change, there are so many thrillers that feature troubled detectives it can sometimes get a little weary. For me the second half of this book is the part I enjoyed the most, darker in tone, there were chapters I found genuinely chilling. The Girl Next Door is a fascinating read that delves into toxic relationships, the secrets, the lies but it also explores the lengths a mother will go to, to protect her family. Highly recommended to those who enjoy a dark psychological thriller

This review maybe altered slightly and edited prior to publication on my blog

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This was definitely a twisty page turner...a young girl is found murdered in the field of a close knit village where crime is possibly the lowest in the country.

All the mother's are members of the PTA and they know each other well, being part of the small community, or do they?

Jane and Jack, the respected local doctor live next door the grieving family and have a clear view of what's happening next door, but they don't want the light cast too wide onto their own house, they have secrets of their own, bruises that Jane keeps hidden from the world....

This novel really keeps you guessing, with the suspect ever changing in my mind and although I had worked it out, it didn't spoil the ending as the author revealed the truth.

Great book - would recommend

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review, this is my honest opinion.

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Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This book had lots of twists and turns and was a really good read.

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A twisty, addictive and absolutely gripping whodunnit that kept me guessing right to the end. Superb!! I loved The Dolls House and Phoebe Morgan's second book did not disappoint. Can't wait for the next one!

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Jane has the perfect life it seems. Three beautiful children, her husband is the local GP. She is envied by the school mums but she is quite alone. Her neighbour Rachel is married to Ian and she has a daughter, Claire, who goes missing. Eventually Claire’s body turns up and Jane is beside herself with worry.

This is two stories as we discover that Jane’s life is far from the perfect facade she makes it and then we have Claire’s murder but they weave beautifully into one tale by the end and what a tale. Definite recommendation to my book group as I know many will enjoy this.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

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Didn't take long to read this physiological thriller.
Gripping from the start, plenty of twists and turns.
Think the storyline unravels at a nice steady pace, before drawing you into the suspenseful ending.

Thank you netgalley, Phoebe Morgan and HQ for allowing me to read and review this book

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Enjoyed the doll house but this one was even better had me hooked from the start would recommend to anyone.

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The Girl Next Door by Phoebe Morgan is a psychological thriller with quite a few twist and turns.
A teenage girl is found murdered in the field behind her house.
Jane who lives next door is trying to help the family and also making sure that her children are safe.
Both family's have secrets that they would rather stay hidden.
I enjoyed this book but guessed who the killer was quite early on.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

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The Girl Next Door tells the story of the murder of a teenage girl, in a small, close-knit, toxic community near Chelmsford (not far from my neck of the woods!). I'm a big fan of shining the light onto small towns, particularly when that light throws up shadows you wouldn't believe exist.

With several female leads, The Girl Next Door allows a fascinating insight into these middle-class families - the darkness hidden behind closed doors. I do love an unreliable narrator, and Phoebe Morgan has absolutely nailed it.

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The Girl Next Door is a psychological thriller that is centred around Jane who is married to Jack and on the outside all is fine with Jane being the pillar of the community and Jack the trusted handsome village doctor, but all is not what it seems behind closed doors ! and when Clare the teenage girl from next door is found murdered the village gossip mill goes into overdrive and the suspicion falls on a number of people but are the police looking in the wrong direction ?The book starts a little slowly and it seemed to drag for the first half of the story but it picked up towards the end and with a great ending i never guessed was coming.An excellent 4 star psychological thriller from Phoebe Morgan.

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Are you looking for an addictive and twisty psychological thriller? Then I strongly recommend The Girl Next Door. I read the second half of it in one sitting! Unusually for any novel, I think this one improved the further I read. By the time I finished it, I was very impressed at how the author packed the story full of plausible twists and realistic characters. The ending completely surprised me.

The story is set in a small town, Ashdon, near Saffron Walden in Essex (I looked it up, and it's a real place). It begins with a sixteen-year-old girl, Clare, found dead in a field. This causes turmoil in the formerly quiet town, with its affluent law-abiding community. The story is told through the narratives of Clare herself (in the hours before she was found), her next-door neighbour Jane and also DS Madeline Shaw who is on the case. I liked the fact that there are so many suspects; everyone seems to have secrets to hide and possible motives for harming Clare. This novel has everything you want in a psychological thriller - untrustworthy characters, domestic settings which make the events more frightening, a plot which keeps you guessing and plenty of drama.

I'm also pleased to report that there are no scenes of animal abuse or child abuse. There is a domestic abuse theme in some of the relatioships, but the details are not overly graphic.

I had some very minor issues with the novel. I would have liked DS Madeline Shaw to be a more distinctive character and to know more of her back story. I also thought that some details of the dialogue weren't realistic; for example, everyone says 'I guess', which is an American alternative to 'I suppose'. Like many American phrases, it's becoming a more popular expression in the UK, but I don't think all the characters would've said it, especially the older and more conservative types. However, these are little details I picked up and didn't affect my enjoyment of the novel. I now want to read Phoebe Morgan's first book, The Doll House.

The Girl Next Door will be published on 21st February. Many thanks to the publisher HQ (HarperCollins UK) for the advance copy via NetGalley.

NB. This review will be published on my blog on 7th February 2019.

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I loved The Doll House by Phoebe Morgan so had high hopes for this one but unfortunately I didn't like it as much. A teenage girl is found dead in a field and everybody in the small community is a suspect. There's a lot of characters to flip between and I found it hard to connect with any of them. I read it pretty quickly but found I wasn't particularly interested in who killed the young girl.

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I enjoyed Phoebe Morgan's debut The Doll House very much and The Girl Next door is even better. I read it in two sittings, keeping me up late, always a sign of a great story.

Perfect wife and stay-at-home Mum, Jane Goodwin, is married to the local GP and they live in an affluent part of town together with their three children. When pretty young Clare, the girl next door, is found dead in a beauty spot nearby, Jane is in a quandary wanting to protect her family amidst all the gossip and scandal that reverberates following the murder. But is Jane telling us the whole truth as she reveals her secrets?

The Girl Next Door will be one of the best family noir/psychological thrillers of 2019. A 5* from me and many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read and review it.

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Just wow! Pretty speechless after finishing this one!! Gripping and twisty, with a really good plot and well written characters.

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